Caravaggio: The Stories of St Matthew

For example, Caravaggio asked himself: what do we know, today, about how the martyrdom of St Matthew took place on the altar steps? Today, a painter can only depict it as a heinous crime committed in a church. Or about the calling of the saint?

All we know is that he was a customs officer. And since it is obvious that gaming would take place in a custom house where money is changed, nothing could be more natural, today, than Christ entering the shabby office to call Matthew, distracting him from a gambling session.

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(Roberto Longhi, Caravaggio e i caravaggeschi, Florence 1951)

of finding an artist to complete the Contarelli Chapel to the Fabric of St Peter, the Vatican office responsible for the construction and decoration of religious buildings, starting with the immense St Peter’s.

To all intents and purposes this was a normal handing over of responsibilities, but it was destined to crucially influence the development of the history of painting. Art, like any other human activity, sometimes experiences major revolutions by sheer coincidence. In fact, the head of the Fabric of St Peter was Francesco Maria del Monte, the cultured cardinal who was distantly related to the French royal family, and who had been the first to perceive and encourage the talent displayed by a young Lombard painter: Michelangelo Merisi, called Caravaggio.

Furthermore, Cardinal del Monte’s residence was almost right opposite San Luigi dei Francesi. After clarifying the situation and realizing that Cobaert was tying himself in knots over a failed masterpiece and that Cavalier d’Arpino could easily be remunerated for his work on the nice little ceiling frescoes, the commission for the Contarelli Chapel finally went

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Caravaggio

The Calling of St Matthew, detail 1599-1600 Oil on canvas, 322 3 340 cm Rome, Church of San Luigi dei Francesi

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For example, Caravaggio asked himself: what do we know, today, about how the martyrdom of St Matthew took place on the altar steps? Today, a painter can only depict it as a heinous crime committed in a church. Or about the calling of the saint?

All we know is that he was a customs officer. And since it is obvious that gaming would take place in a custom house where money is changed, nothing could be more natural, today, than Christ entering the shabby office to call Matthew, distracting him from a gambling session.

‘‘

‘‘

(Roberto Longhi, Caravaggio e i caravaggeschi, Florence 1951)

of finding an artist to complete the Contarelli Chapel to the Fabric of St Peter, the Vatican office responsible for the construction and decoration of religious buildings, starting with the immense St Peter’s.

To all intents and purposes this was a normal handing over of responsibilities, but it was destined to crucially influence the development of the history of painting. Art, like any other human activity, sometimes experiences major revolutions by sheer coincidence. In fact, the head of the Fabric of St Peter was Francesco Maria del Monte, the cultured cardinal who was distantly related to the French royal family, and who had been the first to perceive and encourage the talent displayed by a young Lombard painter: Michelangelo Merisi, called Caravaggio.

Furthermore, Cardinal del Monte’s residence was almost right opposite San Luigi dei Francesi. After clarifying the situation and realizing that Cobaert was tying himself in knots over a failed masterpiece and that Cavalier d’Arpino could easily be remunerated for his work on the nice little ceiling frescoes, the commission for the Contarelli Chapel finally went

16

Caravaggio

The Calling of St Matthew, detail 1599-1600 Oil on canvas, 322 3 340 cm Rome, Church of San Luigi dei Francesi

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1 A commanding gesture

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he scene represents the moment when Matthew, a much hated tax-collector in Capurnaum, is called by Christ, after which he changes his life, becoming a disciple and the author of one of the Gospels. Matthew himself describes the episode of his “calling” in Chapter 9 of his Gospel: “Jesus … saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.”

Just a few words, a succinct account – and, prior to Caravaggio, a subject rarely treated in art. The Lombard painter, notorious for his violent nature and frequent excesses, was actually an attentive reader of the Bible. This profoundly innovative painting is the powerful figurative translation of an event that combines mysticism and action, sacred mystery and everyday life.

The scene is not banal, the iconography is not immediately recognizable. The viewer is invited to “read” the episode patiently, running his gaze over the painting at least twice, back and forth: the protagonists are not in the centre, as was required by tradition, but placed at either end. The starting point of the canvas is, however, perfectly clear: it is the assertive gesture made

by Christ, on the right. In this work Caravaggio has openly cited a most celebrated prototype: the Creation of Adam painted about ninety years previously by Michelangelo on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Christ’s finger “calls” Matthew to a new life, just as God’s

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1 A commanding gesture

T

he scene represents the moment when Matthew, a much hated tax-collector in Capurnaum, is called by Christ, after which he changes his life, becoming a disciple and the author of one of the Gospels. Matthew himself describes the episode of his “calling” in Chapter 9 of his Gospel: “Jesus … saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.”

Just a few words, a succinct account – and, prior to Caravaggio, a subject rarely treated in art. The Lombard painter, notorious for his violent nature and frequent excesses, was actually an attentive reader of the Bible. This profoundly innovative painting is the powerful figurative translation of an event that combines mysticism and action, sacred mystery and everyday life.

The scene is not banal, the iconography is not immediately recognizable. The viewer is invited to “read” the episode patiently, running his gaze over the painting at least twice, back and forth: the protagonists are not in the centre, as was required by tradition, but placed at either end. The starting point of the canvas is, however, perfectly clear: it is the assertive gesture made

by Christ, on the right. In this work Caravaggio has openly cited a most celebrated prototype: the Creation of Adam painted about ninety years previously by Michelangelo on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Christ’s finger “calls” Matthew to a new life, just as God’s

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forefinger gave life to the first man.

Michelangelo Merisi, called Caravaggio, thus pays tribute to his prestigious predecessor Michelangelo Buonarroti. The Lombard artist felt the need to base the new style he adopted for the painting cycle that was to make his career, on the solid foundations of the broad figurative culture he had fully assimilated.

forefinger gave life to the first man.

Michelangelo Merisi, called Caravaggio, thus pays tribute to his prestigious predecessor Michelangelo Buonarroti. The Lombard artist felt the need to base the new style he adopted for the painting cycle that was to make his career, on the solid foundations of the broad figurative culture he had fully assimilated.